


With Great Power...

by Bofur1



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Brotherly Angst, Challenges, Emotional Ending, Fluff and Humor and Angst, Gen, Major Character Injury, Non-Graphic Violence, Oblivious Dori, Realization, That Hideous Strength, Wrestling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-18
Updated: 2014-01-18
Packaged: 2018-01-09 03:03:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1140684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Bofur1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...comes great responsibility. Dori had never realized his own strength before, not until Dwalin challenged him to a wrestling match.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With Great Power...

Dori never really paid attention to building up strength. He ate the greens his mother gave him and went for walks, but that was about it. Oftentimes, however, he found others calling upon him for favors of might. It first started when he was at his friend Loraun’s birthday party. He was examining Loraun’s new silver bracelet that he’d just received from his mother and father.

“It’s a beauty!” Dori announced as he returned it to its owner. Loraun beamed proudly as he swung it around on one finger.

“I know! The silver was—” Whatever Loraun was about to say was lost when the bracelet flew off his finger and bounced along the floor. The two leapt to their feet, shouting in dismay as it fell down a crack in a floorboard.

“Oh, no!” Loraun cried in alarm, skidding onto his knees to peer into the crack. “Dori, my parents gave me that and I’m not supposed to lose it! These floorboards are insanely thick; I can’t see a thing down there!”

Dori nudged his friend aside. “Here, let me.” With one hand Dori pulled the floorboard up and set it aside. “Oh, there it is!” he exclaimed, reaching down to retrieve the bracelet. When he held it out to Loraun, he saw that his friend was gaping at him. “What?” Dori asked, perplexed.

“You pulled up that floorboard with one hand!” Loraun gasped. “How did you do that?”

Dori’s brows knit and he shrugged, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know, I just... _did_.”

Loraun immediately lifted himself to his feet and ran to tell his parents. Dori ran after him, protesting that it wasn’t any big deal and that he needn’t go bragging about him. Of course Loraun exclaimed about it the entire evening to everyone, even their other guests. Dori blushed crimson because every time the story was retold it was exaggerated. He was certain he’d said, “It was nothing, really” to at least twenty people by the time he went home.

“How was your time?” Ama asked.

“Rather annoying,” Dori complained. “Loraun dropped his new bracelet and it fell into a floorboard. Then I pulled up the floorboard and got it back for him. That was _all_ , and suddenly people are saying how strong I am and congratulating me for it!”

A distant smile touched his mother’s face. “Your father was like that too. Don’t worry, it will probably pass.”

It didn’t. Dori found himself pulled aside by a woman having trouble opening a wine bottle. Usually he ended up breaking the bottle by twisting too hard, but instead of being angry the woman would gape just as Loraun had and exclaim, “What a strong lad you are!” There were times also when he would play tug-of-war with others—or rather, he would try to. Whichever side didn’t have him usually backed down before they even picked up the rope.

It wasn’t that Dori minded people liking him, and it wasn’t that he didn’t like helping them; it was just all the coddling and compliments that irked him. Younger children were whispering about Dori to their older siblings, who would promptly arrive at the house of Fori and Jalane to ask Dori if he was up for a wrestling match. Usually he wasn’t, but after threats to his honor he would acquiesce. And he would win. Every time.

Therefore Dori immediately bookmarked the page in his book and stood, rolling up his sleeves, when he heard the familiar knock on the door. When he opened it, his mouth opened too.

There on the porch stood Dwalin and Balin. Actually it was Dwalin standing on the porch and Balin trying to pull him off of it.

“Hello! What are you doing here?” Dori asked in surprise.

Dwalin shrugged. “I want to wrestle with you.”

Dori’s throat went dry. Even dryer still when he heard a motivated voice from behind him. “Do it, Dor’!”

Dori whirled and saw Nori standing in the hall. He had apparently just escaped out of his bath, for his hair was wet and hung in stringy strands around his scruffy cheeks, making him look even younger than he was.

“I—I...” he stammered, trying not to take the enthusiasm in Nori’s eyes to heart. It didn’t work, of course. Dori found his little brother to be utterly adorable and to see him standing there with such hopeful adoration in his eyes made Dori’s heart race.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Dori,” Balin burst out, cheeks turning pink with exertion as he tugged at Dwalin’s elbow. “I’m really sorry—”

“Balin, let him answer!” Dwalin snapped, shaking him off. He narrowed his eyes at Dori. “Yes or no?”

With the weight of both Nori and Dwalin’s stares resting on his shoulders, Dori got uncomfortable. “I...um...I guess I can...” He was going to say “tomorrow”, but Dwalin grabbed his arm and pulled him out onto the grass.

“Right, good! Let’s get down to it. You want to start now?”

Dori answered by upending Dwalin and calmly watching him land on his back. Balin gaped and Nori giggled. Dwalin leapt to his feet, sputtering, and then he and Dori were somersaulting about, trying to get a good hold on each other.

As he had with his past competitions, Dori analyzed his opponent’s every move. Then he made the takedown, slamming himself down on top of Dwalin and pinning him to the ground. Dwalin submitted but requested a rematch immediately afterward. Dori agreed so Dwalin would know he was playing fair.

By the time the teens were sweating, the tussles had started to escalate into actual violence. Out of the blue Dwalin caught Dori in the eye with his fist. Dori instantly retaliated, latching onto Dwalin’s arm and twisting it behind his back. Maneuvering his boot around Dori’s, Dwalin pulled the both of them to the ground and rolled out of the armbar to free his fists for pommelling. Before he could, Dori kicked him in the ribs. He was shocked by Dwalin’s reacting howl. Had he hurt him that badly?

“Hey!” Balin shouted, recognizing the change in the atmosphere. Hurling himself forward, he tore the two of them apart with some effort, barking, “That was supposed to be friendly competition! What’s wrong with you two?!”

“My ribs—” Dwalin groaned, folding in on himself and sinking to his knees. Dori stared at him, openmouthed. When he saw Balin’s incredulous glare, he stammered a bit.

“I’m sorry, I...I didn’t know it would hurt him that bad...I just wanted to get him off of me! I’m very sorry!”

Balin said nothing in reply, simply slipping his arm around Dwalin’s waist and helping him away. Dori stood there, gaping after them, until small fingers wormed into his palm.

“I thought you fought well,” Nori told him quietly.

Dori bowed his head, his hand tightening around his brother’s. “I didn’t mean to hurt him,” he said, his voice filled with self-loathing. “Why did I have to _hurt_ him?! Now I need to go and apologize—!”

Nori squeaked, trying to pull his hand away from Dori’s crushing grip. “Ow, let go! That hurts me!”

Dori whirled, falling to his knees in front of him. “No, no! Nori, please don’t say that.” He cupped the boy’s face in his hands, staring into his innocent eyes. “I don’t know what that was, what I did, but I promise I’ll control it. I won’t _ever_ hurt you.”

Without hesitation Nori slipped his arms around Dori’s neck and nuzzled their noses together. “I know you won’t, Dori,” he whispered trustingly.

Dori took a shuddering breath and wrapped his arms around his brother, making sure that the embrace wasn’t too tight.

 


End file.
